Lorena works across the African Climate & Development Initiative, the Climate Systems Analysis Group, the African Centre for Cities and the Global Risk Governance Programme (Faculty of Law). She is a Researcher on the Urban Africa Risk Knowledge (Urban ARK) Programme, and a Co-Investigator on the Fulcrum Institutions for Sustainability Programme. She is also a World Social Science Fellow in Sustainable Urbanization (International Social Science Council). Her current research focuses on the governance of environmental change issues at local government level, and on engagement, behaviour change and communication on climate change. She has a doctorate from the University of Sheffield (UK), and has a strong background of both research and practice into interdisciplinary issues located at the society/environment nexus. She has worked as a researcher, consultant and practitioner on a variety of conservation, environmental change and management, climate adaptation, environmental governance and development issues. In the past Lorena worked for one of South Africa’s leading Expanded Public Works Programmes, where she developed first-hand experience of the realities of adapting the country to the impacts of climate change.